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Title: STORY OF A BATH, the

Reference number: 6124

Date: 1952*

Director: filmed by D.W. Provan, G. Teasdale

Sponsor: M. Cockburn & Co. Ltd., Falkirk

Sound: silent

Original format: 16mm

Colour: bwcol

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 28.44 mins

Description: Made by M. Cockburn & Co. Ltd., Falkirk, this film depicts the process of bath making, from the office to the drawing room to the foundry. Features shots of process on the factory floor through quality control, to export and range. [Intertitles describe the action throughout].

Complete film is now accessible on tape format [June, 2008]

Shotlist: Part 1
[COL] Title and credits (0.10) ext. Cockburn & Co. Ltd., Falkirk (0.20) Customer's Orders Are Classified And Typed Ready For Issue To Works (0.27) Man brings invoices into room and puts them on desk for another man to look at. They both sign (1.05) typist view of invoice of 'Elliot Paisley Ltd' (1.18) typist at Imperial typewriter (1.32) Special Requirements Involve Orders To The Drawing Office and Pattern Shop. These Departments Are Also Continuously At Work On Improvements And New Designs (1.45) men gathered around drawing board looking at plans (2.30) [BW] gvs two men in foundry manufacturing iron baths and sink unit (3.59) [COL] Making The Mould. Sand Condition Is Continually Tested Before The Moulds Are Made (4.07) [BW] Young man weighing and testing condition of sand using various machinery. He notes the result (5.16) [COL] The Bath Casting Is Made In A Sand Mould Which Is In Two Halves (5.25) The "Cope" Half Forms The External Shape (5.30) [BW] mould (5.35) two men filling mould with dark sand (6.13) lid being lowered, sand mixed on top (6.43) lid is lifted to reveal 'cope' half (7.02) [COL] The "Drag" Half Forms The Internal Shape (7.07) [BW] hot sand being placed back in mould, base re-attached (7.54) base removed to reveal 'drag' half (8.03) [COL] Ramming Hardness Is Important So Moulds Are Tested For Uniformity (8.09) [BW] man testing various points of mould with small gadget (8.20) [COL] The Two Half Moulds Are Assembled For Casting (8.26) [BW] two halves joined, pan across int. foundry (8.58) [COL Melting The Metal. The Raw Materials - Pig-Iron, Scrap, Coke And Limestone - Are Carefully Weighed Before Charging Into The "Cupola" Melting Furnace (9.10) [BW] two men pulling barrow of raw materials (9.17) [COL] two men lifting material into furnace (9.47) The Molten Metal Is Tapped From The "Cupola" At 1400º Centigrade (9.55) molten metal being guided out of furnace into small, two-wheeled barrows (10.48) Strict Control Is Rigidly Maintained. Air Blast Pressure And Volume And Molten Temperatures Are Recorded (10.58) [BW] control panel (11.16) [COL] Metal Composition Is Controlled By Analysis (11.21) [BW] man analysing samples in glass beakers (11.41) [COL] "Casting". The Molten Metal Is Poured Into The Mould (11.47) [BW] several men overseeing metal being poured into mould (12.10) [COL] The Moulds Are Opened And The Casting removed And Placed On A Stillage Ready For Transportation (12.20) [BW] mould opened to reveal casting, which is lifted by winch (12.54) 348ft

Part 2 [Vinegar]
[col] The Castings Are Next Trucked To The Dressing Shop Where They Are Shotblasted Before And After "Dressing" (0.10) [b&w] small forklift truck moves castings which are hoisted onto moving rail (0.35) gvs shotblasting (1.00) pan across foundry (1.07) [col] The Groundcoat Is Applied And The Bath Is Now Ready For Enamelling (1.15) [b&w] application of grouncoat by manual spray (1.29) [col] Making The Enamel. All The Enamels Used Are Made In The Works Under The Supervision of Skilled Chemists (1.41) There Are Three Main Stages In Enamel Manufacture (1.47) 1. Batch Preparation. Weighing And Milling Of Raw Materials [col] weighing of zinc oxide by two men (2.12)
2. "Fritting". The Smelting Of The Batch In An Oil Fired Reverberatory Furnace. Followed By Quenching Of The Melt In Cold Water (2.25) gvs same (3.05) Milling. The Dried Frit Is Ground In Ball Mills To A Fine Powder Then Sieved, Tested And Stored Ready For Use. (3.17)[col] pan large mills, buckets being filled with powder (3.36) The Enamel Powder Is Applied To The Casting And Fused At 950º Centigrade (3.45) [b&w] view from a distance of this, two workers wearing masks (3.51) [col] red hot iron bath being removed from furnace and white powder fused on it through sieves (4.24) another bath being lifted into furnace (4.35) man inspecting enamelled bath (4.50) The Finished Bath Is Minutely Inspected To Maintain The High Standards Of All Allied Products (4.59) close inspection by man with lamp and cloth who logs result (5.48) Panelled Baths Are Fitted Before Despatch To Ensure Ease Of Assembly On The Site (5.57) [b&w] side and end panels, taps and handles are fitted (6.53) [col] All Baths Are Sprayed Externally With A Bitumous Rust Preventative Paint (7.01) gvs same by man with mask and spray gun (7.19) [col] For The Home Market, Baths Are Nested In This Manner And Despatched By Road Transport (7.28) [b&w] Four men stacking and nesting baths which are then winched onto 'Allied Ironfounders' truckbed and then hay spread on top (8.22) [col] For Export The Baths Are Packed In Crates And Shipped Overseas To Canada, South America, The Scandinavian Countries, The Middle and Far East, India, New Zealand and Australia (8.37) [b&w] baths wiped own with a cloth before being packed in crates (9.31) [col] ext. docks, 'Benavon' ship, crates being lifted aboard by crane and placed in hold (10.21) Consignment Of Baths Arriving At Hong Kong (10.26) [b&w] Hong Kong bay - Chinese junk boat (10.35) crates of baths on truck in streets of Hong Kong (11.05) baths manually unloaded (11.25) ext. shop, 'Friends Company', bathroom display in window (11.36) signs 'The Wing On Company Limited', 'The Tung On Plumbing Co. Ltd.' (11.45) [col] The Baths Made Can Be Seen In Showrooms All Over The Country (11.51) [col] couple in showroom, gvs (12.24) Many Designs Are Available And In A Wide Range Of Colours. Here Are A Few (12.32) The Maxim (12.35) small bath before and after boxing in (13.00) The Katrine (13.03) another small bath (13.17) The Magna (13.20) pale blue bath (13.34) The Elgin (13.36) another pale blue bath (13.47) The Warwick (13.50) another pale blue bath (14.14) The Julian De Luxe (14.17) elegant white bath (14.35) The Hadrian (14.38) large white bath (14.52) The Arcadian (14.55) large pink bath (15.14) Each One Is Designed To Satisfy A Particular Need. A Satisfied Customer! (15.20) Young boy climbs in bath and plays with his toys (15.40) The End (15.44) ecs (15.50) 427ft